Adulthood Rites: (2 Xenogenesis Trilogy)

The futures of both mankind and an alien species rest in the hands of one hybrid son in the award-winning science fiction author's masterful sequel to Dawn. Nuclear war had nearly destroyed mankind when the Oankali came to the rescue, saving humanity--but at a price. The Oankali survive by mixing their DNA with that of other species, and now on Earth they have permitted no child to be born without an Oankali parent. The first true hybrid is a boy named Akin--son of Lilith Iyapo-- and to the naked eye he looks human, for now. He is born with extraordinary sensory powers, understanding speech at birth, speaking in sentences at two months old, and soon developing the ability to see at the molecular level. More powerful than any human or Oankali, he will be the architect of both races' intergalactic future. But before he can carry this new species into the stars, Akin must decide which unlucky souls will stay behind. At once a coming-of-age story, science fiction adventure, and philosophical exploration, Butler's ambitious and breathtaking novel ultimately raises the question of what it means to be human. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Octavia E. Butler including rare images from the author's estate.

About the Author :
Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006) was a bestselling and award-winning author, considered one of the best science fiction writers of her generation. She received both the Hugo and Nebula awards, and in 1995 became the first author of science fiction to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. She was also awarded the prestigious PEN Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. Her first novel, Patternmaster (1976), was praised both for its imaginative vision and for Butler's powerful prose, and spawned four prequels, beginning with Mind of My Mind (1977) and finishing with Clay's Ark (1984). Although the Patternist series established Butler among the science fiction elite, it was Kindred (1979), a story of a black woman who travels back in time to the antebellum South, that brought her mainstream success. In 1985, Butler won Nebula and Hugo awards for the novella "Bloodchild," and in 1987 she published Dawn, the first novel of the Xenogenesis trilogy, about a race of aliens who visit earth to save humanity from itself. Fledgling (2005) was Butler's final novel. She died at her home in 2006.

Review :
"Butler's literary craftsmanship is superb." --The Washington Post Book World "A minor masterpiece. . . . Her prose is lean and literate, her ideas expansive and elegant." --The Washington Post Book World "Vintage Butler." --United Press International